In a modern retail store environment, there is a need to improve the customer experience and/or convenience for the customer. Whether shopping in a large format (big box) store or smaller format (neighborhood) store, customers often require assistance that employees of the store are not always able to provide. For example, particularly during peak hours, there may not be enough employees available to assist customers such that customer questions go unanswered. Additionally, due to high employee turnover rates, available employees may not be fully trained or have access to information to adequately support customers. Other routine tasks also are difficult to keep up with, particularly during peak hours. For example, shopping carts are left abandoned, aisles become messy, inventory is not displayed in the proper locations or is not even placed on the sales floor, shelf prices may not be properly set, and theft is hard to discourage. All of these issues can result in low customer satisfaction or reduced convenience to the customer. With increasing competition from non-traditional shopping mechanisms, such as online shopping provided by e-commerce merchants and alternative store formats, it can be important for “brick and mortar” retailers to focus on improving the overall customer experience and/or convenience.
While offering great convenience in the form of one-stop shopping, such stores can also be at least mildly confusing to some consumers due in large part to the very size of the facility and the plethora of items being offered. That wide variety of items can also present a corresponding issue for some consumers in the form of a shopping cart that becomes so filled with various items that pushing and navigating the cart becomes potentially challenging.
Motorized shopping carts are known and typically comprise a shopping cart having an electric motor to power one or more wheels and navigational controls to permit the user to steer the cart. Motorized shopping carts typically include a seat and have a rechargeable battery that can be charged during periods of non-usage. These devices are typically provided to serve persons with permanent or temporary physical disabilities who may have difficulty walking through a large store or pushing a regular cart.
Though certainly useful, existing approaches in these regards do not address all needs of all potential users.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present teachings. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present teachings. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.